What makes a giant race?

fatboy1dh

fatboy1dh

Member
I love racing in events with giant class numbers. I also like racing at tracks where no one has a home-field advantage. For these reasons, I bought an LO206 and went to Rock Island last year. The numbers were great (30 in Med and 20 in Light?), but I have been thinking ever since...

What would make for the biggest single sprint class in recent history (I know there were giant ones back in the day)??

-Would it be no one with a home track advantage (Temporary course or street course?)
-Would it be cheap entry fees (or laps per dollar)?
-OR is it big prize money (can you have both)?
-Is it wide open kart rules (bodywork, seat, tires, etc)? Or is it the level playing field of everyone on the same stuff (spec tires, bodywork, etc)?
-What else am I missing? Is the cheap engine what drew people to the LO206 at RIGP? Or is it the level playing field?
-What would it take to get someone to put on an event like this? Or does it already exist?

I know there are a lot of questions in there, but I was just trying to spur some thought. How do we get all these little racing niches across the country to come together and race? Am I the only one that thinks this would be an awesome thing to see a class of 45 or 50? Maybe even two/three heats of 30 and a final of the top 35?

-Derek
 
> No home feild advantage...
> create a weight formula to let flatheads/clones/animals/two strokes compete together, diversity is cool...
> pavement race eliminates a lot of tire science and helps relative newbies compete- but a tire rule w no prep would work on dirt
> Festival atmosphere..family freindly before and after the racing,
> Something like a Chili-Bowl format...heck, I'd spend a week racing somewhere if there were a LOT of karts and I wouldn't get my doors blown off!
 
Study what the WKA gold cup series has been doing over the past 6 national race events and you will get some ideas. Correct classes and tire specs, event activities, and awards are all key. Engine package is a factor but not the most important!

Steve
 
Mixing engines/weights = NO WAY! Someone will have an advantage. And even if they didnt, if someone won convincingly they would say it was the engine choice and people would be upset. Mixed classes have failed repeatedly in karting .

Prestige ranks VERY high in getting big entries
common class rules
biggest class I've ever been in was open tires and bodywork

Funny I was brainstorming the same idea. What would it take to put on an event that would draw 50+ entries in a single class? What class would it be and what region would the track be in?
 
gary10 said:
Mixing engines/weights = NO WAY! Someone will have an advantage. And even if they didnt, if someone won convincingly they would say it was the engine choice and people would be upset. Mixed classes have failed repeatedly in karting .

Prestige ranks VERY high in getting big entries
common class rules
biggest class I've ever been in was open tires and bodywork

Funny I was brainstorming the same idea. What would it take to put on an event that would draw 50+ entries in a single class? What class would it be and what region would the track be in?
Click to expand...

I tend to agree that mixing engines has mixed results (pun intended??). It may be good for a 1 time show, but people quickly get discouraged because one guy runs away with it and all of a sudden that engine needs 50 lbs added to it...

Here is my best go at it... Lets see what people think:

-Rock Island Grand Prix (IL)/Goodland Grand Prix (IN)?? - centrally located so that east and west can both travel equal distance, temporary circuits to keep people from practicing there all month
-LO206 - due to the competitiveness, recent popularity, and current price
-Open tires and bodywork as to not discourage anyone from being able to attend with their normal set-ups
-Here are the two keys (IMO):
-Payback top 20 (I know this takes sponsors and/or money and is hard to do)
-$10 entry fee -- Thanks Dave Klaus for paying the rest ;-)

Thoughts? Opinions?

-Derek
 
If you guys can find the best idea for THE BIG RACE i would put it on at our new sprint track we are building 7/10 mile sprint track I am a member of MSOKC also east lansing kart track been to ovka, beaver run, and rock island, I run a shifter kart s2 class, las vegas was the biggest event i have entered in last year i think we had 126 karts in s2 that was a blast. back to the big race i think large purse free food free camping for racers and a super nice track would draw a large kart count, I dont think that a home field track would have any thing to do with it,Some racers can just kick butt wherever they go.
 
the inverness events ive been to have been alot of fun. Great atmosphere and really good racing. I dont remember a big payout just trophy and a chance to hangout with Miss Cooter....The people there enjoyed having us just as much as we enjoyed being there.
 
Prestige ranks VERY high in getting big entries
Click to expand...

This is the key ingredient to maintaining a annual race with many entries. Throwing money at it won't get you this. If you have this, guys will travel the country to race for a trophy, maybe even less.
 
Mars0 said:
This is the key ingredient to maintaining a annual race with many entries. Throwing money at it won't get you this. If you have this, guys will travel the country to race for a trophy, maybe even less.
Click to expand...

The most Prestige may not bring them in, Southpark and Elkhart was HIGH on prestige and they still dwindilled on entries in the later years.
 
Biggest races I've ever been to , were in Lancaster, Pa., beginning in the early '80's and almost every yr. after for at least 10 yrs., in a huge Mall parking lot where I can remember there being over 800 karts , it finally got so big that it was divided into a 2 day event , all for the "Heart Assn." Karts from at least 10 different states.
 
Elkhart dwindled? I thought thr last year they ran it was still huge? What wax max entries vs final year? I remember seeing over 100 in multiple classes entered
 
The most Prestige may not bring them in, Southpark and Elkhart was HIGH on prestige and they still dwindilled on entries in the later years.
Click to expand...

A track/sanctioning body has to work very hard to get it (it's not something they can obtain - not even in just a couple years). Once they have it, they have to even work harder to maintain it. Eventually it seems, someone will screw that up or the people who made it happen burn out.
 
Showing my ignorance. I never got to attend Elkhart, was told it shut down because lack of interest. I did get to attend the very last southpark. It was well attended but not huge as yrs before.
 
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